The Fulbright program is designed to facilitate cultural exchange and understanding, and Fulbright's Group Projects Abroad allow small, focused cohorts of American teachers and scholars to travel and to learn together. In June 2017, a number of Gettysburg College faculty and K-12 teachers from South Central PA traveled to China to study points of similarity […]
Few of us would be surprised to learn that young adults have been the earliest adopters of social media. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that older adults, particularly baby boomers, are not active users. In a 2017 study conducted by the Pew Research Center, nearly 7 in 10 Americans reported using social media “to […]
No institution can be better than its faculty. An institution can be better than its president, its football team, its library and its food service—but if the faculty are weak, the institution is weak. We are in an exciting time for faculty in that their roles are expanding with new opportunities in online education, MOOCs, […]
To keep Stanford front and center in the minds and hearts of its graduates, the university’s alumni association—like other institutions—is investing time on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The big attraction: instant, interactive, daily engagement—especially with young alumni. “Social media is the digital water cooler,” says Adam Miller, Stanford University Alumni Association’s director of digital and […]
Many alumni face the same dilemma when they take out their checkbook to give their annual donation to their alma matter: Where do they allocate their donation? Most large universities include multiple colleges not to mention the various scholarships, programs and projects alumni must choose from. An article that highlights the Directed Giving strategy argues […]
When Teri McIntyre was a University of Wisconsin undergrad in the early ‘90s, she volunteered to call alumni to ask for college fund donations and—believe it or not—she liked making those calls. A university development officer noticed and offered McIntyre a job after graduation. “I didn’t know if I could spend my whole life in […]
In the movie The Perfect Storm, a group of intrepid fisherman found themselves in the midst of a colossal and historic storm—a true worst case scenario. Deluged by the overpowering surf, the ship goes down with all hands on deck. Scores of small, faith-inspired tuition dependent colleges are now sensing the turbulent waves under their […]
Pom-poms; a marching band; cheering students; a four-by-two-foot, $25 million ceremonial check—all part of college football halftime. At least they were in November when Micron Technology CEO Mark Durcan presented the check to Boise State University President Bob Kustra, other officials and several delighted students on the 50-yard line. The Micron Technology Foundation's gift, which […]
Student retention, persistence, success and graduation remain top-of-mind issues for higher ed leaders amidst the advent of the College Scorecard, the push toward 60 percent of high school graduates earning college degrees by 2020, and families' familiar concerns about return on investment. Lower-than-desired retention and graduation rates are not limited by an institution's size, sector, […]
At least 1,831 gifts of $1 million or more—a total of $24.5 billion—were given to charity across eight international regions in 2014, with higher education remaining the top recipient. Yet it’s a decrease from 2013, when 1,995 donations worth $26.3 billion were reported. That’s all according to research from the “Million Dollar Donors Report” released […]
